Deutscher Ferienhausverband

What Deutscher Ferienhausverband does

Deutscher Ferienhausverband e.V. (DFV) is a registered German industry association (eingetragener Verein, Vereinsregister VR 33151 AG Charlottenburg) headquartered in Berlin, founded in December 2013 to represent Germany's holiday home and short-term rental sector. It describes itself as Germany's largest industry association in the segment, with approximately 90 members spanning online booking platforms, regional rental agencies, service and technology suppliers, and private landlords. The association's central product is the DFV Qualitätssiegel (Quality Seal), a certification program for agencies, portals, and intermediaries that requires a €1,000 initial examination fee and is bundled into ordinary membership at 30% of the membership fee.

DFV operates a tiered membership model with two core offerings: Ordentliche Mitgliedschaft (ordinary membership for companies, priced on six revenue bands from €500 to €10,000 annually and including the quality seal), and Fördermitgliedschaft (supporting membership for companies, associations, tourism organizations, and private landlords, priced €250-€3,000 annually). Recurring membership fees are the primary revenue stream, supplemented by seal-related charges and event-related income. The organization is led by Chairman Göran Holst (Travanto) with four deputy chairpersons and a small core office (Geschäftsstellenleiterin, one staff member, external PR consultant). It does not develop or sell software; its technology footprint is limited to a website, newsletter, Slack-based community, and Zoom meetings.

Its go-to-market is community-led: direct membership recruitment via the website, presence at industry events (notably ITB Berlin and SuperStay Live), quarterly in-person networking meetings, monthly Zoom calls, and ongoing press and public relations. The association's strategic value to members is anchored in political advocacy on EU and national short-term rental regulation (including the EU Kurzzeitvermietungsverordnung, German Zweckentfremdungsverbote across twelve federal states, Baunutzungsverordnung, and the Nationale Tourismusstrategie), umbrella memberships in EHHA, DTV, and Aktionsbündnis Tourismusvielfalt, and consumer-facing trust built through media reach and the Qualitätssiegel.

Name

Deutscher Ferienhausverband

Legal name

Deutscher Ferienhausverband e.V.

Website

https://deutscher-ferienhausverband.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Deutscher Ferienhausverband e.V. is a Berlin-based nonprofit industry association (founded December 2013) representing approximately 90 members across Germany's short-term rental sector — platforms, regional agencies, service suppliers, and private landlords — through tiered membership, the DFV Qualitätssiegel certification, political advocacy, and networking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The association generates revenue through annual membership fees paid by ordinary members (companies in the holiday home market), supporting members (companies and organizations), and private landlords. Fees are tiered based on revenue/company size and collected annually.
2. Quality Seal Fees: Additional fees for companies obtaining the DFV quality seal (Qualitätssiegel), which represents 30% of the membership fee. An initial examination fee of €1,000 applies for quality seal certification.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Deutscher Ferienhausverband e.V. (DFV) is Germany's largest industry association for the holiday home and short-term rental sector. It offers tiered membership programs (regular and supporting), a DFV Quality Seal (Qualitätssiegel) certification, political advocacy at federal and EU levels, networking events and webinars, market studies, and public relations support to its approximately 90 member companies, agencies, and private landlords.

Product overview

Deutscher Ferienhausverband e.V. is Germany's largest industry association for the short-term rental market, founded in 2013 and based in Berlin. The organization operates a unified platform of services centered around its DFV Qualitätssiegel (Quality Seal) certification program for holiday home agencies, portals, and intermediaries. The portfolio consists of tiered membership products — regular membership (Ordentliche Mitgliedschaft) with revenue-based pricing including quality seal certification, and supporting membership (Fördermitgliedschaft) for companies, associations, and individual property owners. These core offerings are supplemented by networking events and webinars (Netzwerktreffen und Veranstaltungen), political advocacy services (Politische Interessenvertretung), market research and industry surveys (Marktstudien und Branchenumfragen), and public relations support (Öffentlichkeitsarbeit). The association does not offer a software product or API, but serves as an industry voice representing approximately 90 members across Germany's holiday home market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DFV Qualitätssiegel (DFV Quality Seal)

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions of readers reached annually through media outreach and press activities
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• App Me GmbH (SuperStay Live)supportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 November 2023App Me GmbH, organizer of the SuperStay Live holiday property trade show, became a supporting member (Fördermitglied) of the DFV. The DFV participates as a premium partner with a joint exhibition stand at the event.
• IDnowsupportingTechnology or Integration · 19 May 2022IDnow, a leading European identity platform provider, became a supporting member of the DFV. IDnow provides digital identity verification services that help holiday home providers enhance security and trust in online rental transactions.
• EHHA (European Holiday Home Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DFV is a member of the European Holiday Home Association (EHHA), the European umbrella organization for the short-term rental industry. Through this membership, the DFV participates in EU-wide advocacy for fair short-term rental regulations and engages in cross-border knowledge sharing with holiday home associations from other European countries.
• DTV (Deutscher Tourismusverband e.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DFV is a member of the German Tourism Association (Deutscher Tourismusverband), the umbrella organization for tourism in Germany. This membership enables coordinated advocacy on national tourism policy and access to broader tourism industry networks and resources.
• Aktionsbündnis TourismusvielfaltcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DFV participates in the Aktionsbündnis Tourismusvielfalt (Action Alliance for Tourism Diversity), a coalition of 28 tourism industry associations. The alliance advocates for the tourism sector's interests in policy discussions, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, and develops joint positions on legislative matters affecting the industry.
• Nationale Plattform Zukunft des TourismussupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DFV supports the initiative 'Laden in Tourismusregionen' (Charging Infrastructure in Tourism Regions) under the Nationale Plattform Zukunft des Tourismus, advocating for the expansion of EV charging infrastructure in holiday destinations.
• BVCD/MV (Bundesverband der Campingwirtschaft, Landesverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DFV collaborated with BVCD/MV, the camping industry association in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic to advocate for tourism reopening and fair regulations for outdoor and self-contained accommodation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bundesverband der Campingwirtschaft in Deutschland (BVCD): German trade association for the camping and outdoor-stay sector; DFV partner during COVID-era advocacy. Comparable as another domestic tourism trade association focused on a specific lodging sub-segment (camping) with similar policy and PR activities.
• Deutscher Tourismusverband (DTV): National umbrella for German tourism and a strategic partner of DFV. Comparable as a Germany-wide tourism membership association providing policy advocacy, networking, and quality initiatives, but covering broader tourism destinations rather than the holiday home sub-segment specifically.
• DEHOGA (Bundesverband Hotel, Gastronomie und Tourismus): Germany's principal hospitality trade association representing hotels and restaurants. Directly comparable as a German membership organization that lobbies on tourism policy, offers tiered membership, and engages in PR, but anchored in the hotel (rather than holiday home / STR) side of the same market.
• EHHA – European Holiday and Home Association: European umbrella for short-term rental associations and is also DFV's strategic partner. Directly comparable as a holiday home / STR trade body with overlapping advocacy, standards, and data activities, but operating at EU rather than national level.
• VRMA – Vacation Rental Management Association: The largest US-based vacation-rental trade association. Functionally analogous to DFV in providing education, advocacy, and networking for short-term rental managers and agencies, though operating at much larger scale in the North American market.

Broad incumbents

• FeWo-direkt / Vrbo industry engagement: A major global short-term rental platform. Not a trade association, but a relevant counterpart given DFV's mandate to represent holiday-home providers against platforms and policy; useful as a benchmark for how STR intermediaries operate at scale.
• HOTREC (Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs & Cafés in Europe): European umbrella for national hospitality associations including DEHOGA. Comparable as a higher-tier federation that aggregates national trade-association members and engages in EU policy, but broader in scope (lodging plus food service) rather than STR-only.

Others

• AHGZ / allgemeine hotel- und gastronomie-zeitung (trade media): Leading German trade media outlet for the hospitality industry. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but relevant as a content and event partner that overlaps DFV's audience of hotel and holiday-home decision makers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutscher-ferienhausverband-e--v-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Deutscher Ferienhausverband